Yes, There are Conservatives at Harvard's Institute of Politics Now, Too

By Justin Dunning

Source: Harvard Kennedy School

As a freshman at Harvard, in the midst of the 2024 election, I was disheartened by my belief that there was no space for conservatives on campus. Especially after the victory of President Trump, I thought that the campus social scene would be politically fractured, and conservatism was all but dead at Harvard.

Still, I was one of the very few conservatives who would set foot in the IOP, joining the Fellows and Study Group Program, which had a sliver of Republican politics represented. Indeed, the IOP did not seem to want us there. The student president of the IOP, Prat Mallick, even wrote a deplorable article calling for the end of bipartisanship and rebuking the 77,302,580 Americans who voted for President Trump in 2024. Mallick justified his anti-republican extremism by arguing that Trump “eroded” our democracy, saying “True bipartisanship — and healthy nonpartisanship — is only possible when both sides of the aisle share a basic commitment to our country’s norms. Trump and his supporters have demonstrated that such a commitment can no longer be assumed.” Indeed, the IOP’s student vice president, Ethan Kelly, often bragged about his work on Kamala Harris’ campaign for the Presidency, a campaign so far outside the American mainstream that it lost all the swing states and Trump became the first president in two decades to win the popular vote. The IOP was hardly a representative sample of America.

Thankfully, the late IOP Director, Setti Warren, condemned Mallick’s attack on intellectual vitality, defending the IOP as a place where both sides of the political aisle could discuss our most pressing political issues. After Warren’s sudden death, it was unclear whether the IOP would hold on to the bipartisanship that he had championed or succumb to the overwhelming pressure of the far-left that made up both its staff and board. Instead, the Harvard Kennedy School rebuffed its extremist critics by appointing both a Democrat, Ned Price, and a Republican, Beth Myers, to lead the organization during its transition phase, showing that it would defend against student activists.

The Conservative Coalition, which I now lead, was formed as “a hub for all Harvard College students interested in developing their political identity through community, conversation, and events while working together to advocate for IOP-wide conservative representation, broad ideological inclusion, and public service opportunities for students of all ideological backgrounds.” Many students, even conservatives, however, were unaware of its existence. It was not their fault: The Conservative Coalition held few public events, limiting its rare gatherings to members only. At the beginning of 2026, I was appointed co-chair of the coalition, committed to increasing the presence of conservative speakers and representation within the IOP. While the vast majority of members and leaders within the broader IOP are still left-wing, and many even hold key positions in the Harvard College Democrats, the current IOP executive team has nevertheless been committed to the IOP’s longstanding mission of bipartisan dialogue.

This semester, I have had the pleasure of hosting a multitude of events for the coalition, serving as a big tent for conservatives seeking to broaden their ideas and perspectives at Harvard. These include a widely successful Chick-Fil-A social to kick off the year, meals with former House Speakers Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, forums with Governor Spencer Cox, Chris Christie, and Senator Mitt Romney, support for three incredible conservative resident fellows, and the sole hosting of Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) for a conversation and dinner. There is no better time to join the IOP as a conservative. Top officials are committed to the conservative point of view and have assured me that the IOP will continue to support all conservative speakers and ideas presented for the foreseeable future. As we blueprint for the Fall 2026 semester, consider joining one of the few conservative spaces on campus that is not bound by extremists, but instead welcomes all conservatives and provides an active space for them to engage. Contact conservatives@harvardiop.org to join the Conservative Coalition and help us bring conservatism to Harvard.

With your help, Harvard’s conservative revival has only just begun.